Art

Spot colour

Colour code Sharmistha Rays A Different Kind of Blue, Orange, Rising and (below) The Sublimation of Desire

Sharmistha Rays new paintings are as much about the intuitive application of paint as about real landscapes, finds Zeenat Nagree.

n the Indian art world, Sharmistha Ray is better known for working behind the scenes. During the early days of the art boom, in 2006, Ray joined Bodhi Art as the director of the gallerys Mumbai branch. By the time the recession hit the art market and Bodhi Art shut down its main gallery along with its outposts in Berlin, Delhi, New York and Singapore, Ray had helped mount some truly spectacular exhibitions the country had seen in the past few years. Ray hadnt intended to play a part in the business side of things when she first left New York. Before she moved to Mumbai in October 2006, Ray briefly lived in Kolkata, the city of her birth, as an artist on an exploratory mission, . I wanted to see what India could do to me and, in turn what I could do in India, said Ray, who grew up in Kuwait and studied painting and art history in the US. This fortnight, Ray returns to the passion that first brought her to this country in Hidden Geographies, her India debut, at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke. The exhibition features 10 thickly layered abstract canvases that are as much about the

spontaneous application of paint on canvas as they are about urban and natural landscapes that Ray has encountered during her time in India. To construct her bright-hued paintings, Ray pours the paint onto the canvas, layering one colour over another. At times, she works through the dense surface with a palette knife. Each work evokes the experience of an environment, identified by the artist or left ambiguous. I wouldnt be painting this way if I were in New York, said Ray, referring to her choice of vivid colours in Hidden Geographies. My location is important. Mumbai, the city that the artist has made her home, is the inspiration of A Different

Kind of Blue. Within the largely monochromatic blue canvas, Ray introduces hints of pink, ochre and black to bring out the experience of observing the flux, shifts, movements on the large expanse of the Arabian Sea. The shade of blue that Ray uses, however, is reminiscent of the tarpaulin found at construction sites and slums; the work condenses Rays experiences of Mumbai. Other landscapes emerge in Rays recent suite of paintings: There are no fixed points, an airy pink canvas recreates the artists experience of visiting Jaipur and watching the corners of monuments peek through a fog-laden morning. The dazzling

yellows and ochres of The Golden Temple are meant to evoke the light reflecting off the architectural landmark of Amritsar. With every canvas that Ray creates, memories and experiences intermingle with meditations on light, colour and archetypal landscapes. With every work, there is a gestation period, she said. I have an idea but so much is about my response to the work while I am making it. Nature takes a riotous turn in Rays The Sublimation of Desire, the 15-foot wide centre piece of the show. Shades of purple, red, green and yellow together create the impression of a garden rich in foliage surrounded by lush ponds. The work brings to mind Impressionist giant Claude Monets famous Water Lillies. Because I studied abroad, my work is compared to Western painters in terms of the style, language and the references I make, Ray said. I am working within the Western paradigm; there is no doubt about that. My influences are styles like Romanticism and Impressionism. Living in New York, I was surrounded by abstract expressionism and thats when I really started moving from a figurative to an abstract language. In Rays early works, which were created during the beginning of the last decade, the stark landscapes of Williamstown and New York, where she underwent training in fine art, are evident. The black-and-white paintings are distinctly different from the playful colouration of Rays current work, which has emerged out of her artistic interaction with the country. The rhythmic patterning and colours are rooted in the local, she said. Over the years, Ray has explored the landscape around her and Hidden Geographies is a continuation of her attempt to layer her various migrations and travels through paint. The artist hasnt yet explored the environment that surrounded her in her formative years the arid expanse of Kuwait. Interestingly, I think about the desert sometimes, she said. But I havent yet gone into the desert in my work. It hasnt manifested itself. Maybe it will. Hidden Geographies is on display at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke until Sat Feb 18. See Exhibitions.

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